Files of cop who shot son in Upstate motel sought by prosecutor

HERKIMER, N.Y. (AP) -- Prosecutors want to view the personnel records of a former Rochester police officer charged in the fatal shooting of his 38-year-old son in an Adirondack motel last summer.

The Observer-Dispatch of Utica reports (http://bit.ly/18j5FCJ ) that Herkimer County prosecutors have asked a judge for permission to view 59-year-old Michael Leach's files from his 36-year career with the Rochester Police Department.

Leach was a rookie officer when he fatally shot a teenage girl who reportedly was carrying a knife while fleeing her abusive boyfriend. He was cleared of any wrongdoing and retired as a captain in 2001.

He was a part-time officer with the Perry Police Department in Wyoming County when authorities say he shot his son Matthew inside their Old Forge motel room after mistaking him for an intruder.